J. Felix Strevell, pictured here leaving the federal courthouse in Albany after his 2009 sentencing, is the target of a new probe by the U.S. Attorney's office. (Times Union)

J. Felix Strevell, pictured here leaving the federal courthouse in Albany after his 2009 sentencing, is the target of a new probe by the U.S. Attorney's office. (Times Union)

Photo: STEVE JACOBS

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Joseph Felix Strevell at the Institute for Entrepreneurship in Albany in 2001. He was later convicted of defrauding the nonprofit agency. (Times Union)

Joseph Felix Strevell at the Institute for Entrepreneurship in Albany in 2001. He was later convicted of defrauding the nonprofit agency. (Times Union)

Photo: MICHAEL P. FARRELL

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Joseph Felix Strevell, who was convicted of defrauding state taxpayers as the head of a non-profit, lived on this 130-acre farm in Nassau that was listed for sale at $925,000 in 2013.

Joseph Felix Strevell, who was convicted of defrauding state taxpayers as the head of a non-profit, lived on this 130-acre farm in Nassau that was listed for sale at $925,000 in 2013.

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Joseph Felix Strevell was subpoenaed in November 2014 as the U.S. Attorney's office probed his assets. (Times Union)

Joseph Felix Strevell was subpoenaed in November 2014 as the U.S. Attorney's office probed his assets. (Times Union)

Photo: STEVE JACOBS

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Exclusive: Former state official Felix Strevell target of new federal criminal probe

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ALBANY — Federal law enforcement authorities are pursuing a criminal investigation targeting Joseph Felix Strevell, a once-politically connected Rensselaer County resident who pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal charges of looting the state's Institute for Entrepreneurship, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The investigation is apparently related to the Justice Department's attempts to recover more than $111,000 that Strevell, 54, was ordered to pay back to the state of New York when he was sentenced in 2009 in U.S. District Court in Albany.

On Tuesday, an assistant U.S. Attorney ordered a copy of the transcript from Strevell's 2009 sentencing, according to court records. Officials with the U.S. Attorney's office in Albany declined comment on the current investigation.